Fuyu kite wa hitoyo futayo o tamazasa no hawake no shimo no tokoroseki made - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

冬来ては一夜二夜を玉笹の
葉分けの霜のところせきまで

Roma-ji: Fuyu kite wa hitoyo futayo o tamazasa no hawake no shimo no tokoroseki made
English Translation: Since winter came,
night after night, one, then two,
on the jeweled bamboo
the frost on each parted leaf
has grown till there is no room
Meaning: Since winter came, night after night the frost on each leaf of the bamboo grass has thickened until there is no room left.
Commentary: Book Six Winter Poems 400

Headnote: "Composed as a poem on the beginning of winter"
Composed as a poem on the beginning of winter. Since winter came, the poet says, night after night the frost on each leaf of the bamboo grass has grown until there is no room left. In frost that covers the leaves within only a few nights he sees how quickly winter deepens.
The author, "Fujiwara no Teika," was the son of this anthology's compiler, Fujiwara no Shunzei. He later compiled the Shin Kokin Wakashū and the Shin Chokusen Wakashū, and is said to have selected the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The four poems from 397 of this book to this one continue on frost. Where the three before it sing of frost at a single dawn or in a single night growing late, this poem sings of frost accumulating over several nights, "hitoyo futayo," treating the same subject on a different measure of time.

First line, "fuyu kite wa": "since winter came." 440 of this book likewise opens from winter's arrival with "fuyu kureba."
Second line, "hitoyo futayo o": "one night, two nights," showing how short a time it takes the frost to build up. Where the preceding poem, 399, sings of one night growing late, this poem sings of several nights passing.
Third line, "tamazasa no": "tamazasa" is an elegant word for bamboo grass.
Fourth line, "hawake no shimo no": "hawake" means leaf by leaf, on each separate leaf.
Fifth line, "tokoroseki made": "tokoroseshi" means cramped or full, the frost filling the leaves. The poem breaks off here, leaving a lingering resonance.
Author: Fujiwara no Teika
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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